Thursday, October 9, 2014

Once Saved Always Saved Part VIII

There are three groups of people who have been working through these blog posts, and unfortunately, this is the end of the line for one of them. The first group began this series already agreeing with the doctrine, and are quick to confess that God is sovereign. They have a high view of Scripture and so will have no problems going on to the warning passages. The second group has read everything carefully and are beginning to be persuaded that Once Saved Always Saved is the Biblical position. They've begun to come out of their ignorance an are going to do fine sponging up the rest of the material.The third group may have read the posts but remain completely unpersuaded. They don't have what it takes to go on, and they come in two flavors: Pharisee and Sadducee.

AN ADDRESS TO THE SADDUCEE

"The same day Sadducees came to Him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked Him a question... But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God"

Believing themselves to be superior, the smug Sadduccees came to test Jesus with a question during His passion week that made the whole concept of the afterlife look ridiculous. In response He rebuked them for believing neither in the Scriptures nor in the power of God.Some of you reading this are the same way. You may even think of yourself as a Christian, but you believe neither the power of God to save and keep, nor in the testamony of Scripture. You think the way to be saved is to attend a church regularly, or stack up enough good deeds so that they outweigh the bad. You think grace is doing your best and having God do the rest. The Scriptures quoted so far have had absolutely no impact on you. There's a title for people who have absolutely no regard for its teachings--nonbelievers. I'm sorry, this is the end for you.

An Address to the Pharisee

"Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,“‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’?If then David calls him Lord, how is He his son?” And no one was able to answer Him a word."

Once the Sadducees proved themselves to be incompetent at humiliating Jesus the Pharisees gave it a go. They too were unsuccessful, and afterward Jesus turned the tables, asking them a question, using their desire to construct a consistent explination for Scripture against them. Knowing they couldn't figure out Psalm 110 with their current worldview, and that their hostility to the truth would ultimately keep them from answering, Jesus asked His question.Some of you are the same way. You've run up against an apparent conflict in the Scriptures and plan to resolve it by treating the passages which warn believers not to fall away as more numerous and potent than those which speak to eternal security. You still think the evidence isn't on the side of Once Saved Always Saved. You need to realize the Scriptures overwhelmingly testify to Once Saved Always Saved. For example, in this series we've looked at:Gal 3:3; John 6:44; Rom 8:7; 1 Cor 2:14; 2 Cor 4:4; Is
64:6; Jer 17:9; Ps 51:5; Eph 2:1-5; Jn 3:19; Rom 3:10-11; Jer 13:23; Jonah 2:9; 1 Cor 12:3; Ezekiel
11:19; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Phil 2:13; 2 Tim 2:25; Acts 11:18, 16:14; Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; Is 46:10-11; James 1:17; Rom 11:29; Phil 1:6; 1 Peter 5:10; 1 Thess 5:23-24; Acts 13:48; Rev 13:8; 2 Tim 1:9; Rom 8:29-30; Eph 1:4-5, 11;
Matt 24:24; John 10:15; Is 53:11; Rev 5:9; Rom 8:24; John 17:11-12;
John 10:28-29; 1 John 2:1; John 10:11; Eph 1:13-14; 2 Cor 1:22; Rom 5:5;
1 John 4:4; Is 59:21;
Rom 4:5; Rom 3:23-30; Gal 3:11; Rom 4:9; Titus 3:7; Gal 2:6;
1 Cor 6:11; Rom 5:1, 9; Rom 8:31-39; 2 Cor 1:10; 2 Thess 3:3; 1 Peter
1:5; 2 Tim 1:12; Is 41:9; 2 Tim 4:18; 1 John 2:19; Matt 7:23-24which makes 63 verses that conclusively establish the truth that believers cannot lose their salvation. More could be added. Like Psalm 37:28. I could have mentioned Psalm 37:28. That stacks up against roughly 15 verses which speak of warning us not to lose our faith. But you don't care. It doesn't matter to you because you've decided to resolve this problem by getting rid of the conclusion which offends you. You still don't believe in eternal security.I'm sorry, that's not the Christian response either, and I can't help you.With that out of the way, we can go on.